Introduction: This draft has been pending since 2018 when I first started blogging. It's the last installment of the series. Please enjoy!
Michelle is killing it! She is my official blog shero! She made early retirement her minion and just conquers the blogging world in her spare time. Financial savviness is her superpower and her strive for independence is a thread through almost her entire journey which began at an early age. As the story goes, she completed 2 degrees in under 3 years then worked harder and smarter to pay off the associated debt. During this time, she also moved out of her house as a teenager, married, and bought her home. Then started a blog and found she loved it and could make money off of it. They sold their house and now travel in an Airstream and call a boat home....because they can. Her Feb 2018 income report showed just under $180,000/ MONTH in blogging income. With her income, I'd be able to retire in 3 months! Ahhh...what dreams may come!
She really needs no introduction. Her last twitter post showed she is even being featured in Oprah Magazine online. Check her out. This is one Journey you don't want to miss!
Remember the 'old days' when online chat was still a thing and people would list and ask for stats upon entering a chatroom. I thought that might be a quaint idea to utilize as I browsed and shared other FIRE blogs of interest. As this blog grows, there might be other blogs that might apply to your situation or season or just might be more interesting.
I like sharing knowledge; it's kind of what the Internet's all about. Some of the details are things bloggers have strong opinions on and use it to differentiate their experience. Others are things that are fun or basic to know about other bloggers.
Blog name: Making Sense of Cents
Author: Michelle Schroeder- Gardner
Blog start date: 2011
Location: Full time travel
Current Age: 29
Age of FI/RE: 24? (birth?)
Net worth: ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD (make an average of about $100,000+/mon on blogging)
Debt: $0 (paid of $38,000 in 7 months)
Income/ Income streams: blogging, investments, affiliate marketing, e-courses
Savings: ALL THE MONEY
Filing status: Married
Rent/own: neither (sold home to travel full-time)
Kids: 0
Pets: yes, 2
Car: the one they live in
Cell phone: yes
Cable: no
Credit cards: yes, for rewards; never been in credit card debt
Motivation: Per Michelle, my student loan debt was a big reason why I started this blog.
Their Journey so far: Overcame some adversity in her teens and helped raise her younger sibling. This is the personal history of many a prolific figure throughout history. Per Michelle, I used to work in the financial services industry as a financial analyst, but now I am fully self-employed as an online freelancer and solopreneur. I publish monthly income updates where I discuss how I earn over $100,000 a month online, which you can find here. Michelle's site promotes several products through affiliates and those she has created utilizing email marketing. I am a student of her how-to-start a blog tutorial.
Blog Notables: She wins in every category. The victory to me seems sweeter when there are personal history facets that could have taken the Journey down a different path.
My takeaway: If I can achieve literally a fraction...I'm talking 1% of her success...that will be enough for me. (It's possible I might not be dreaming big enough.) What Michelle has achieved is certainly notable and at this point her blog focuses heavily on promoting what she has already completed, created, and accomplished. I celebrate the hustle!
How I relate to their journey: Through adversity, many of us find triumph.
What blogbytes would you like to know about your favorite FIRE blogger?
Showing posts with label Blog spotlight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blog spotlight. Show all posts
List of Single Girl Money Bloggers
When I first started this blog, it was not easy finding other women blogging about personal finance. As I got more immersed in the personal finance community, I realized there were more women who money than I originally thought. Still not that many single girl money bloggers though. So to keep track, I thought I'd compile a list. The list at Tread Lightly, Retire Early helped me connect with other female personal fiance bloggers, so I know these lists are helpful especially for new bloggers like me. I just niched it down a bit to single girls- single meaning never married, childless, sans relationship, boos, or baes :)
Here's my list of single girl money bloggers, in no particular order. If you or someone you know needs to be added to the list, feel free to comment below with a link and two to three sentences telling me about your blog. I'll update the list periodically. Thanks, y'all!
This is yours truly. A single 30-something, openly Christian human woman. I love watching TV while eating takeout, and I want to retire early. I started really getting into savings and investing late 2017 when I stumbled upon the FIRE (financial independence, retire early) community. In 2018, I made the decision to try to save for a sabbatical and maybe if all goes well continue the journey to early retirement.
"A few years ago, I lost everything, almost every dollar I ever had to my name. But after a few pity parties (okay, a lot of them), I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and transformed my relationship with money. I don’t earn a great deal of money. And I certainly would never be able to earn enough in my entire lifetime to replace the 9-digit inheritance that I lost."
"A mid-30s, long-term single woman with a humanities PhD and a desire to keep afloat without a second income — as well as to catch up after a dozen financially “lost” post-college years. I write primarily about my own life and finances, and I’m obviously no professional; any advice I give is to be taken with plenty of salt."
"A 40-something single woman living in the U.S. This blog chronicles my slow climb out of deep debt. My “double debt” refers to the $140+K twin terrors of student loan debt ($112,000+) and credit card debt ($30,000+). “Single woman” will address the difficult choices, challenges, and opportunities that those without partners experience when dealing with large debt alone."
"A 33 year old female residing in northern Florida where I earn my living as an attorney. I currently earn approximately $80,000 a year at a small law firm in the area. I love to read, I like to write and knit. I am single with no prospects, but I think I have steeled myself to become an old maid."
"Jane's ADHD has always made managing her finances a challenge. But not wanting to retire broke, she has made it her absolute mission to rid of nearly $81,000 of debt by embracing a Cash Only Lifestyle. Fueled by iced coffee and veggies."
"My name is Erin and I’m a 20-something living and working in DC. In 2016 I started to feel like I was living paycheck-to-paycheck, and in early 2017 I decided to finally get a handle on my finances. I fell down the rabbithole of personal finance blogs and emerged as a personal finance blogger myself! I’m using this blog to document my path to financial independence, as someone living on a not-so-big salary in a high-cost-of-living area."
Here's my list of single girl money bloggers, in no particular order. If you or someone you know needs to be added to the list, feel free to comment below with a link and two to three sentences telling me about your blog. I'll update the list periodically. Thanks, y'all!
Introducing the List of Single Girl Money Bloggers
#1 My Early Retirement Journey
This is yours truly. A single 30-something, openly Christian human woman. I love watching TV while eating takeout, and I want to retire early. I started really getting into savings and investing late 2017 when I stumbled upon the FIRE (financial independence, retire early) community. In 2018, I made the decision to try to save for a sabbatical and maybe if all goes well continue the journey to early retirement.
#2 Splurging on Freedom
"A few years ago, I lost everything, almost every dollar I ever had to my name. But after a few pity parties (okay, a lot of them), I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and transformed my relationship with money. I don’t earn a great deal of money. And I certainly would never be able to earn enough in my entire lifetime to replace the 9-digit inheritance that I lost."
#3 The Single Dollar
"A mid-30s, long-term single woman with a humanities PhD and a desire to keep afloat without a second income — as well as to catch up after a dozen financially “lost” post-college years. I write primarily about my own life and finances, and I’m obviously no professional; any advice I give is to be taken with plenty of salt."
#4 Double Debt Single Woman
"A 40-something single woman living in the U.S. This blog chronicles my slow climb out of deep debt. My “double debt” refers to the $140+K twin terrors of student loan debt ($112,000+) and credit card debt ($30,000+). “Single woman” will address the difficult choices, challenges, and opportunities that those without partners experience when dealing with large debt alone."
#5 Struggling to Be Debt Free
"A 33 year old female residing in northern Florida where I earn my living as an attorney. I currently earn approximately $80,000 a year at a small law firm in the area. I love to read, I like to write and knit. I am single with no prospects, but I think I have steeled myself to become an old maid."
#6 Jane Has Debt
"Jane's ADHD has always made managing her finances a challenge. But not wanting to retire broke, she has made it her absolute mission to rid of nearly $81,000 of debt by embracing a Cash Only Lifestyle. Fueled by iced coffee and veggies."
#7 Reaching for Fi
"My name is Erin and I’m a 20-something living and working in DC. In 2016 I started to feel like I was living paycheck-to-paycheck, and in early 2017 I decided to finally get a handle on my finances. I fell down the rabbithole of personal finance blogs and emerged as a personal finance blogger myself! I’m using this blog to document my path to financial independence, as someone living on a not-so-big salary in a high-cost-of-living area."
100 Posts Later. What You Liked. What I Learned.
Welcome back to My Early Retirement Journey! All three of my loyal readers, I'm so glad you're here! I have reached 100 posts (actually a week or so ago). Praise the Lord! Yeah, I took it there. Anyway, for the two that I didn't just offend, keep reading for a recap of the 10 most viewed posts and a few lessons learned along the way. Stay tuned for my next blog update publishing soon. (In case you missed the last one, check it out here!)
Let's get into it. Per Google Analytics...
Maybe you read some. But in case you missed any, here they are for your browsing pleasure...
Notes. The top ten are certainly a surprise. I see no ostensible pattern. Do you?
Let's get into it. Per Google Analytics...
Here are my Top 10 posts:
Maybe you read some. But in case you missed any, here they are for your browsing pleasure...
- Why Yes, This Is My $300,000 Student Loan Repayment Plan: REPAYE 2018
- How Being A Victim of Identity Theft Helped Me Take Control of My Finances and Pay Off $30,000 of Debt in 2 Years
- Review | 3 Free Spreadsheets You Might Want To Try
- Why I Love My Roku So Much! (Cable-whathat?)
- A Bajillion Tiny Little Indisputable Facts About Life In Your 30s
- 7 Easy Meals When You Need A Break: A Listicle
- What No One Tells You About Managing Your Aging Parents' Finances
- Enron and Madoff and Ponzi! Oh My!: How to Background Check Your Financial Professional
- Financial Update | June 2018 Income and Expenses
- My Week Ending May 18, 2018: Royal Wedding, Sick Again, Misery
Notes. The top ten are certainly a surprise. I see no ostensible pattern. Do you?
- The top two don't surprise me much. That seems to be the reason a lot of people start a personal finance blog.
- Three of ten have some sort of personal finance number in the actual title.
- Four of ten have some variation of the word finance.
- The Roku post is certainly a surprise.
- A couple of my more personal stories made it on the list, so that's at least hopeful because I enjoy writing those a bit more.
Lessons learned:
- Do not be consumed by readership, comments, and page views. It will kill your joy.
- It's pretty easy to start a blog. It's pretty hard to get anyone to read it.
- It's exciting to see your words in print no matter which way you look at it. While new comments are pretty motivating, write for you. Write what you wish was already written for you to read.
- It's pretty easy to be seduced by the success of others. It can be pretty uneasy getting over the low of not quite realizing that level of success just yet.
- Join the community of your blog's niche. It's a great way to make connections, get tips, and get help!
What I learned about myself:
- I still enjoy creating content, writing, publishing etc.
- I am still looking for new ways to establish myself online while staying true to my voice. This means there are still some things I censor until I see a more established blogger doing it first.
- I am still trying a variety of things to figure out what works. This means I'm still browsing at least five or so blogs a week and commenting and sometimes digging deeper into their archives to see what I can take away from their success journey.
- I am still not aggressively pursuing making my blog profitable. By this I mean not writing content that is clickable or shareable or marketable or affiliate-linkable. For now, I'm still writing content I want to write that documents my early retirement journey from the perspective of a single girl. That was my objective after all. I'll talk more about blog strategies and changes in my next blog update. Subscribe now so you don't miss it! :)
- Lastly, blogging is easily my cheapest hobby. Prior to this my favorite two things to do were eat takeout and watch TV. They still are, but TV costs me $80/mon with a cable subscription. Takeout can run me around $200/mon. Blogging is $4/mon or if you click through my link $3/mon. That's about 10 cents a day. 10 cents! Even when I play the lottery with my office pool, it's $2/week. Blogging is the best. It really is, and not just because of the affiliate link I'm promoting. I was obviously blogging way before I was an affiliate! I strongly encourage you to start your own blog. Even if you only publish six posts - that's six pieces of your life you're sharing with the world!
- Read more about my blogging journey:
- 101 Things You Will Encounter Your 1st Week Blogging….about FIRE or Personal Finance
- How To Stay Motivated Your 1st Month Blogging
- Read more about my blogging journey:
Spotlight on: Millennial Revolution
I can't get enough of their Reader Cases! Please check out their site. It's brash and straight to the point. They are unapologetic and have a bit of a Cinderella story. Who doesn't like that?!
Remember the 'old days' when online chat was still a thing and people would list and ask for stats upon entering a chatroom.
I thought that might be a quaint idea to utilize as I browsed and shared other FIRE blogs of interest. As this blog grows, there might be other blogs that might apply to your situation or season or just might be more interesting.
I like sharing knowledge; it's kind of what the Internet's all about. Some of the details are things bloggers have strong opinions on and use it to differentiate their experience. Others are things that are fun or basic to know about other bloggers.
Blog name: Millennial Revolution
Author: Kristy Shen (FIREcracker) and Bryce Leung (Wanderer)
Blog start date: 2016
Location: call Toronto home, but travel full-time
Current Age: 35 and 36
Age of FI/RE: 31 and 32
Net worth: $1,000,000 and counting
Debt: $0
Income/ Income streams: investment income, blog income, book deal
Savings: $1,00,000 and counting
Filing status: Married
Rent/own: rent
Kids: 0
Pets: 0
Car: no
Cell phone: yes
Cable: no
Credit cards: yes, for travel hacking
Motivation: Because they could? They were pretty high earners and graduated college with little if any debt.
Their Journey so far: FIREd at 31
Blog Notables: I particularly am a big fan of the reader case studies. There is a lot of flack in the comments section of these posts but FIRECracker doesn't seem to pay it any mind. Her husband does an investment series worth checking out for those new to investing. I can certainly appreciate their no nonsense style to their blog. It has a particular sense of...it's my blog..I do what I want!
My takeaway: You don't have to own a home as part of your investment portfolio. They are big proponents of rent vs own and encourage others to really assess if it makes sense in their Journey to Early Retirement because it's not a requirement nor a necessary part of the dream for everyone.
How I relate to their journey: FIRECracker has several posts on her meager beginnings in Communist China and how being poor helped shaped the choices that have afforded her the lifestyle she does. I too grew up in humble but happy conditions as a new immigrant where hardwork was a lifestyle not a choice.
What blogbytes would you like to know about your favorite FIRE blogger?
Remember the 'old days' when online chat was still a thing and people would list and ask for stats upon entering a chatroom.
I thought that might be a quaint idea to utilize as I browsed and shared other FIRE blogs of interest. As this blog grows, there might be other blogs that might apply to your situation or season or just might be more interesting.
I like sharing knowledge; it's kind of what the Internet's all about. Some of the details are things bloggers have strong opinions on and use it to differentiate their experience. Others are things that are fun or basic to know about other bloggers.
Blog name: Millennial Revolution
Author: Kristy Shen (FIREcracker) and Bryce Leung (Wanderer)
Blog start date: 2016
Location: call Toronto home, but travel full-time
Current Age: 35 and 36
Age of FI/RE: 31 and 32
Net worth: $1,000,000 and counting
Debt: $0
Income/ Income streams: investment income, blog income, book deal
Savings: $1,00,000 and counting
Filing status: Married
Rent/own: rent
Kids: 0
Pets: 0
Car: no
Cell phone: yes
Cable: no
Credit cards: yes, for travel hacking
Motivation: Because they could? They were pretty high earners and graduated college with little if any debt.
Their Journey so far: FIREd at 31
Blog Notables: I particularly am a big fan of the reader case studies. There is a lot of flack in the comments section of these posts but FIRECracker doesn't seem to pay it any mind. Her husband does an investment series worth checking out for those new to investing. I can certainly appreciate their no nonsense style to their blog. It has a particular sense of...it's my blog..I do what I want!
My takeaway: You don't have to own a home as part of your investment portfolio. They are big proponents of rent vs own and encourage others to really assess if it makes sense in their Journey to Early Retirement because it's not a requirement nor a necessary part of the dream for everyone.
How I relate to their journey: FIRECracker has several posts on her meager beginnings in Communist China and how being poor helped shaped the choices that have afforded her the lifestyle she does. I too grew up in humble but happy conditions as a new immigrant where hardwork was a lifestyle not a choice.
What blogbytes would you like to know about your favorite FIRE blogger?
My Early Retirement Journey Featured on The Financial Diet
In case you missed it, here's My Early Retirement Journey's feature on The Financial Diet.
Head over there now for my Aug 2018 feature and some great tips for all things young and money!
Oct 2018 Feature: The Life Crisis That Finally Made Me Get My Act Together & Get Rid Of $30K In Debt
Head over there now for my Aug 2018 feature and some great tips for all things young and money!
Oct 2018 Feature: The Life Crisis That Finally Made Me Get My Act Together & Get Rid Of $30K In Debt
How To Start A Blog, part 2
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.
You did the easy part - choosing a name and signing up for hosting, and you're ready for the best part - creating content! If you're smart, you clicked through one of my links to get started.
Now here's what it's really like...
My story.
Like I said before, I started on Blogger because I tend to look (twice) before I leap, and then look again. That's exactly what happened when I started My Early Retirement Journey (the blog). I tried Blogger, then after six posts, I tried Bluehost. Learning WordPress got in the way. I just wanted to write before I exploded, so I ran away scared. I went back to Blogger. (Sidenote: Bluehost and Siteground really do give you your money back without hassle.) Then I thought about it some more and really decided to give blogging a second chance. I came back to Bluehost. I trudged through and got acclimated to WordPress and added a lot of nice stock photos. My blog was beautiful...but it was so slow. All those darn pictures really slow down* your site's load time. I got tired of all the tech stuff, and asked for my money back yet again from Bluehost. They gave it back to me. I did this all within the 30 days because I thought that's all the time I had to get a refund, but I later learned from other bloggers that even after the 30 days, they'll pro-rate whatever part of the plan you don't use. After 100 posts, I decided to really try to take blogging more seriously, even if just as a serious hobby. So I decided to start over with Siteground. All I'm trying to say in a very verbose way is this - the struggle is real, but don't let that deter you. If I can do it, you definitely can!
Read more of my story here:
101 Things You Will Encounter Your 1st Week Blogging
How To Stay Motivated Your 1st Month Blogging
Why I Came Back to BlueHost
Blog Update | 1 Month Later
Blog Update | 3 Months Later
Here are some quick and dirty tips to frequently asked questions. A lot of bloggers push paid courses or lead-ins to get you to sign up for their newsletter. It's a good strategy, but it's time consuming for the reader wading through all the words and ads and courses. Here's the single girl's take on some of these popular questions.
Plugins are useful to add features to your blog to make it do a specific function. It's basically code that someone else wrote to make your life easier. Choose plug-ins that have good reviews, good documentation (instructions), and have been around for awhile. Be selective as too many can make your site slow or cause your site break. Here are some common ones used by most bloggers:
Pinterest is a visual search engine. People search the internet to find solutions. Pinterest provides the visuals. Lots of bloggers swear by Pinterest to help drive traffic to their site. There a lot of paid e-courses and strategies, but here's what I gleaned so far:
Here's a good starting place. You would obviously want to ramp this up if you have bigger monetizing goals. But if you're taking your time, like me, these are some reasonable milestones.
Tips to optimize images
Best time to publish a blog post
Making up blogging rules
Tailwind strategies
Blog post ideas
Template to make money using affiliate marketing
Subscribe and check out my Wednesday Weekly posts for other great blogging tips! Like this one. *To reduce file size of images, do this: open Microsoft Publisher > Insert photo > right click > save as picture > change resolution to web> save filename with your blog name as part of filename.
Single Girl's Essential Guide to Blogging (part 2)
Congratulations, you did it!
You did the easy part - choosing a name and signing up for hosting, and you're ready for the best part - creating content! If you're smart, you clicked through one of my links to get started.
Now here's what it's really like...
THE HARD PART
My story.
Like I said before, I started on Blogger because I tend to look (twice) before I leap, and then look again. That's exactly what happened when I started My Early Retirement Journey (the blog). I tried Blogger, then after six posts, I tried Bluehost. Learning WordPress got in the way. I just wanted to write before I exploded, so I ran away scared. I went back to Blogger. (Sidenote: Bluehost and Siteground really do give you your money back without hassle.) Then I thought about it some more and really decided to give blogging a second chance. I came back to Bluehost. I trudged through and got acclimated to WordPress and added a lot of nice stock photos. My blog was beautiful...but it was so slow. All those darn pictures really slow down* your site's load time. I got tired of all the tech stuff, and asked for my money back yet again from Bluehost. They gave it back to me. I did this all within the 30 days because I thought that's all the time I had to get a refund, but I later learned from other bloggers that even after the 30 days, they'll pro-rate whatever part of the plan you don't use. After 100 posts, I decided to really try to take blogging more seriously, even if just as a serious hobby. So I decided to start over with Siteground. All I'm trying to say in a very verbose way is this - the struggle is real, but don't let that deter you. If I can do it, you definitely can!
Read more of my story here:
101 Things You Will Encounter Your 1st Week Blogging
How To Stay Motivated Your 1st Month Blogging
Why I Came Back to BlueHost
Blog Update | 1 Month Later
Blog Update | 3 Months Later
But how do I...
Here are some quick and dirty tips to frequently asked questions. A lot of bloggers push paid courses or lead-ins to get you to sign up for their newsletter. It's a good strategy, but it's time consuming for the reader wading through all the words and ads and courses. Here's the single girl's take on some of these popular questions.
What's a plug in and do I need one?
Plugins are useful to add features to your blog to make it do a specific function. It's basically code that someone else wrote to make your life easier. Choose plug-ins that have good reviews, good documentation (instructions), and have been around for awhile. Be selective as too many can make your site slow or cause your site break. Here are some common ones used by most bloggers:
- Akismet (spam blocker)
- Jetpack (adds dashboard stats, and the subscribe to comments/posts check box you see at the end of comments)
- Monster Insights (helps integrate your Google Analytics)
- Yoast (for SEO (helps you show up in Google searches), descriptions, and publishing to Twitter)
- W3 Total Cache or WP Super Cache (helps make your site load faster)
What's Pinterest and how do I use it?
Pinterest is a visual search engine. People search the internet to find solutions. Pinterest provides the visuals. Lots of bloggers swear by Pinterest to help drive traffic to their site. There a lot of paid e-courses and strategies, but here's what I gleaned so far:
- Make 100 boards
- Use hashtags
- Join 25 group boards
- Get Tailwind (it schedules pins for you, but you still have to make pins, free for 1 month)
- For stock images: choose Unsplash* (free)
- For creating pins: Choose Canva (more aesthetics) or Quote Cover (easier)
How do I use Facebook/ Twitter for my blog?
- Join 15 groups on Facebook.
- Create a Facebook page for your site.
- Create a Twitter page to share your new posts and retweet old ones. Also to connect with other bloggers.
- Use IFTT (free) to help automate some your sharing across platforms.
Do I need to comment on other blogs?
- Yes. This is your introduction to your blogging community.
- Leave thoughtful comments on newer and more established blogs you enjoy. Join the conversation; entrench yourself in the community.
- Pro tip: for personal finance bloggers, join the following directories: Rockstar Finance, Rockstar Finance Forums, Women Who Money, Camp FIRE, Tread Lightly, Retire Early
Do my first posts need to be the best thing ever written?
- No. Before you get googley-eyed or discouraged over your favorite blogger's wild success, scroll to their first post and be amazed. No one was banging out blockbuster posts their first month blogging. You can also not bang out great posts at first too. Take your time and get comfortable with WordPress and all the tech stuff you will inevitably have to learn. Be assured, we've all been there! I'm a big technophobe and I've persevered. You can too!
- For your viewing pleasure, here are some first posts of some now really successful blogs:
What milestones should I hit?
Here's a good starting place. You would obviously want to ramp this up if you have bigger monetizing goals. But if you're taking your time, like me, these are some reasonable milestones.
- MONTH 1: Figure out WordPress.
- MONTH 2: Publish at least 6 posts on a regular posting schedule.
- MONTH 3: Work on your social media marketing, including Tailwind (if applicable).
- MONTH 6: Shoot for at least 100 followers across all social media platforms. Do at least 3 guest posts.
- MONTH 12: If you plan to monetize, and you didn't already start with ads, get ads. Get involved in affiliate marketing. Try to make at least one sale. It can take 3 years to really get your blog to a good place, and some people who blog and market aggressively can get there in 3 months. It's your blog, do it the way you want.
Other resources.
Tips to optimize images
Best time to publish a blog post
Making up blogging rules
Tailwind strategies
Blog post ideas
Template to make money using affiliate marketing
Subscribe and check out my Wednesday Weekly posts for other great blogging tips! Like this one. *To reduce file size of images, do this: open Microsoft Publisher > Insert photo > right click > save as picture > change resolution to web> save filename with your blog name as part of filename.
Spotlight on: Frugalwoods
This was my binge read of the week. What was most memorable to me was the idea of using a spreadsheet and time to find the right place to call home. I think most of all that is central, albeit unspoken, in My Early Retirement Journey. There is a live wire in the background of My Journey wondering where exactly I will land. Remember the 'old days' when online chat was still a thing and people would list and ask for stats upon entering a chatroom. I thought that might be a quaint idea to utilize as I browsed and shared other FIRE blogs of interest. As this blog grows, there might be other blogs that might apply to your situation or season or just might be more interesting. I like sharing knowledge; it's kind of what the Internet's all about. Some of the details are things bloggers have strong opinions on and use it to differentiate their experience. Others are things that are fun or basic to know about other bloggers.
Blog name: Frugalwoods
Author: Elizabeth Willard Thames
Blog start date: 2014
Location: Southern (rural) Vermont
Current Age: 34 year old
Date of FI/RE: May 2016
Net worth: undisclosed
Debt: 1 mortgage (their primary residence $1393/mon)
Income/ Income streams: rental income from their previous home
Savings: undisclosed
Filing status: Married
Rent/own: own
Kids: 2
Pets: yes
Car: yes and farm equipment
Cell phone: yes
Cable: no
Credit cards: yes "how we buy everything"
Motivation: My husband asked me, “when are you happiest?” And I said, “I’m happiest I’m out hiking in the woods [...]” And he said, “Why are we living in the city? Why are we spending all this money on this lifestyle that is not really bringing us that high level of contentment.” And so we thought, ‘instead of running away to the woods every weekend, we should really just move to the woods.’ This is where we are happiest, this is where we are most at peace. (pbs.org)
Their Journey so far: They do not hide the fact that they come from a stable home of privilege that has afforded them the wherewithal to choose to live a frugal life despite high earned income. Her husband is and still works as a software engineer and the blogger was a professional fundraiser with writing experience. Less than three years after that reflective moment, the couple moved to their 66-acre homestead in central Vermont. The full-time transition to life in the woods is made possible – in part – by being able to rent out their house in Cambridge. (pbs.org)
Blog Notables: Their decision to pursue (and subsequently achieve) financial independence afforded them the opportunity and ability to live a life of their own design. Their blog focuses less on investing and early retirement so to speak but more on the benefits of frugality, financial independence, homesteading, and choosing your peace. In the works for the homestead is turning the outbuildings on their property into rental income through Airbnb. This intent was one of several factors on the spreadsheet they used to find their optimal location. Of note, readers can submit case studies for the blogger and community to provide recommendations and insight.
My takeaway: Spreadsheets work!
How I relate to Their Journey: I appreciate a well thought out and executed plan. Kudos!
What blogbytes would you like to know about your favorite FIRE blogger?
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Related Content:
Blog name: Frugalwoods
Author: Elizabeth Willard Thames
Blog start date: 2014
Location: Southern (rural) Vermont
Current Age: 34 year old
Date of FI/RE: May 2016
Net worth: undisclosed
Debt: 1 mortgage (their primary residence $1393/mon)
Income/ Income streams: rental income from their previous home
Savings: undisclosed
Filing status: Married
Rent/own: own
Kids: 2
Pets: yes
Car: yes and farm equipment
Cell phone: yes
Cable: no
Credit cards: yes "how we buy everything"
Motivation: My husband asked me, “when are you happiest?” And I said, “I’m happiest I’m out hiking in the woods [...]” And he said, “Why are we living in the city? Why are we spending all this money on this lifestyle that is not really bringing us that high level of contentment.” And so we thought, ‘instead of running away to the woods every weekend, we should really just move to the woods.’ This is where we are happiest, this is where we are most at peace. (pbs.org)
Their Journey so far: They do not hide the fact that they come from a stable home of privilege that has afforded them the wherewithal to choose to live a frugal life despite high earned income. Her husband is and still works as a software engineer and the blogger was a professional fundraiser with writing experience. Less than three years after that reflective moment, the couple moved to their 66-acre homestead in central Vermont. The full-time transition to life in the woods is made possible – in part – by being able to rent out their house in Cambridge. (pbs.org)
Blog Notables: Their decision to pursue (and subsequently achieve) financial independence afforded them the opportunity and ability to live a life of their own design. Their blog focuses less on investing and early retirement so to speak but more on the benefits of frugality, financial independence, homesteading, and choosing your peace. In the works for the homestead is turning the outbuildings on their property into rental income through Airbnb. This intent was one of several factors on the spreadsheet they used to find their optimal location. Of note, readers can submit case studies for the blogger and community to provide recommendations and insight.
My takeaway: Spreadsheets work!
How I relate to Their Journey: I appreciate a well thought out and executed plan. Kudos!
What blogbytes would you like to know about your favorite FIRE blogger?
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Spotlight on: Retire By 40
Remember the 'old days' when online chat was still a thing and people would list and ask for stats upon entering a chatroom. I thought that might be a quaint idea to utilize as I browsed and shared other FIRE blogs of interest. As this blog grows, there might be other blogs that might apply to your situation or season or just might be more interesting. I like sharing knowledge; it's kind of what the Internet's all about. Some of the details are things bloggers have strong opinions on and use it to differentiate their experience. Others are things that are fun or basic to know about other bloggers.
Today's Blog Spotlight features Retire By 40. There's something irreverent about this blogger. I picture a calm middle aged man making notes on the world with nothing entirely new to say but enjoying being part of the conversation. I can relate to the heart he puts in his posts as he endeavors to remind readers it's not that much greener on his side of the grass (eventhough we suspect it likely is).
Blog name: Retire by 40
Author: Joe Udo
Blog start date: 2010
Location: California
Current Age: 44
Age of FI/RE: 38
Net worth: $2,312,988 (as of Feb 2018)
Debt: not found
Income/ Income streams: investment income, wife's salary, blog income, renal properties, Real Estate Crowdfunding, P2P Lending
Savings: $2,312,988 + $50,000/yr from wife's income
Filing status: Married
Rent/own: own
Kids: 1
Pets: no
Car: yes
Cell phone: yes
Cable: yes
Credit cards: yes, for travel hacking
Motivation: Per RB40, I had been a computer engineer at Intel since 1996, but the job wasn’t the right fit for me anymore. They needed senior engineers who can lead people and projects. That wasn’t me and the job became more and more stressful. My physical and mental health deteriorated and I knew I had to get out.
Their Journey so far: FIRE'd July 2012
Blog Notables: His wife is still working. He is a stay at home dad and blogs on the side. Has multiple online business ventures and stays cautiously optimistic.
My takeaway: I enjoy the seemingly uncomplicated life he has carved out with simple objectives each day. I can appreciate those who lean into a life more ordinary.
How I relate to their journey: While my job still suits me for the time being, there are daily regular stressors of a work-life that chip away at my mental health. This also has fueled My Early Retirement Journey. His was the third How-To-Start-A-Blog post I read before I did my first trial with Bluehost.
Related Content:
What blogbytes would you like to know about your favorite FIRE blogger?
Spotlight on: Root of Good
Remember the 'old days' when online chat was still a thing and people would list and ask for stats upon entering a chatroom. I thought that might be a quaint idea to utilize as I browsed and shared other FIRE blogs of interest. As this blog grows, there might be other blogs that might apply to your situation or season or just might be more interesting. I like sharing knowledge; it's kind of what the Internet's all about. Some of the details are things bloggers have strong opinions on and use it to differentiate their experience. Others are things that are fun or basic to know about other bloggers.
Blog name: Root of Good
Author: Justin McCurry
Blog start date: Sept 11, 2013
Location: Raleigh, NC
Current Age: 38
Age of FI/RE: 33
Debt: $0
Savings: $2.1 million
Net worth: $2.1 million
Income/ Income streams: Investment accounts, blog's ads and affiliate marketing
Filing status: Married
Rent/own: own, mortgage-free
Kids: 3
Pets: 0
Car: 1, purchased used, paid for
Cell phone: Yes, one unspecified VOIP + 1 Republic wireless phone for his wife + 1 prepaid phone for daughter
Cable: No, some other unspecified streaming service
Credit cards: Yes, uses actively for travel rewards and rebate hacks
Motivation: Seemingly a natural propensity for savings and thriftiness starting at an early age with a matching spouse.
Their Journey so far: Justin (and his wife) achieved early retirement and financial independence when Justin was age 33 with a net worth of about $1 million dollars. Add that to a well-timed lay off.
Blog Notables: It goes without saying this is my blog crush. The blog not the blogger, to be clear. They had a modest income like mine, and are intentionally thrifty. They did get some of their initial savings momentum from an unspecified business Justin started and a home they sold, but for the most part their savings and investing hacks played a significant role in their early retirement journey. Justin does a good job of chronicling the important steps they took to achieve FIRE with actual numbers. Of note, they point out that it is not necessary to work 30 years to buy their 3 children every one of their little heart's desires.
My takeaway/How I relate to their journey: I appreciate the foundation of a good savings strategy in The Journey. I could relate to the fact that there weren't active streams of passive income for the majority of their journey as this is not where my heart leans. So it is encouraging to know that early retirement can be achieved without strong blogging income, real estate, or small business income.
What blogbytes would you like to know about your favorite blogger?
Blog name: Root of Good
Author: Justin McCurry
Blog start date: Sept 11, 2013
Location: Raleigh, NC
Current Age: 38
Age of FI/RE: 33
Debt: $0
Savings: $2.1 million
Net worth: $2.1 million
Income/ Income streams: Investment accounts, blog's ads and affiliate marketing
Filing status: Married
Rent/own: own, mortgage-free
Kids: 3
Pets: 0
Car: 1, purchased used, paid for
Cell phone: Yes, one unspecified VOIP + 1 Republic wireless phone for his wife + 1 prepaid phone for daughter
Cable: No, some other unspecified streaming service
Credit cards: Yes, uses actively for travel rewards and rebate hacks
Motivation: Seemingly a natural propensity for savings and thriftiness starting at an early age with a matching spouse.
Their Journey so far: Justin (and his wife) achieved early retirement and financial independence when Justin was age 33 with a net worth of about $1 million dollars. Add that to a well-timed lay off.
Blog Notables: It goes without saying this is my blog crush. The blog not the blogger, to be clear. They had a modest income like mine, and are intentionally thrifty. They did get some of their initial savings momentum from an unspecified business Justin started and a home they sold, but for the most part their savings and investing hacks played a significant role in their early retirement journey. Justin does a good job of chronicling the important steps they took to achieve FIRE with actual numbers. Of note, they point out that it is not necessary to work 30 years to buy their 3 children every one of their little heart's desires.
My takeaway/How I relate to their journey: I appreciate the foundation of a good savings strategy in The Journey. I could relate to the fact that there weren't active streams of passive income for the majority of their journey as this is not where my heart leans. So it is encouraging to know that early retirement can be achieved without strong blogging income, real estate, or small business income.
What blogbytes would you like to know about your favorite blogger?
Spotlight on: My Early Retirement Journey
Remember the 'old days' when online chat rooms were still the thing and people would list and ask for stats upon entering a chat room? I thought that might be a quaint idea to utilize as I browsed and shared other FIRE blogs of interest. As this blog grows, there might be other blogs that might apply to your situation or season or just might be more interesting. I like sharing knowledge; it's kind of what the Internet's all about.
Some of the details are things FIRE bloggers have strong opinions on and use to differentiate their experience. Others are things that are fun or basic to know about other bloggers.
For illustrative purposes, let's start with this blog!
Blog name: My Early Retirement Journey
Blog start date: Feb 2018
Location: USA
Current Age: almost 34
Age of FI/RE: projected age 44 (2028)
Debt: $300k in student loans
Savings: $60k
Net worth: negative
Income/ Income streams: full-time job
Filing status: Single
Rent/own: rent
Kids: 0
Pets: 0
Car: yes, bought new in 2007
Cell phone: No, prn Simple Mobile prepaid at $27/mon
Cable: No (seasonally; currently circling through free trials of streaming service)
Credit cards: No. Recently got out of credit card debt...for the second time. Don't plan on going back.
Motivation: I'm very grateful for full-time employment because when the world ended around 2009, it was the thing I wanted most. Now like a true human there are other things I'd rather be doing with my 30s and 40s then cubicling. In short, I'm life is too beautiful for a full-time job!
Their Journey So far: My Early Retirement Journey is in the beginning stages of The Journey. She is recently initiated into the FIRE movement but has a ways to go yet. She has set a 10 year savings goal of $600k in order to leave the workforce and retire early on a modest annual income of $30k.
Blog Notables: She is the only single woman FIRE blogger for miles.
My takeaway: This is a journey along which you are all invited!
What blogbytes would you like to know about your favorite bloggers?
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